Bacharan Valak
A man now shadowed in mystery, Bacharan Valak was the first Emperor to succeed Palpatine, ascending to power in 6 ABY and coronated in 8 ABY. In addition to being the Galactic Emperor, Valak was also the Dark Lord of the Sith, taking on many apprentices during his time as Master of the Dark Side. What is known about Valak's early life is little, other than that by 6 ABY, Valak was an Imperial admiral who had managed to draw a lot of support to himself, and the eyes of the Interim Ruling Council, who saw fit to allow Valak to take reign over their Empire. At the time, however, the Empire was still split into various factions, and Valak's reign would be a shaky one. After crushing the Vigilant Movement in 7 ABY, Valak had regained most of the Empire's remaining forces and territory, and in 8 ABY was coronated at Castle Tsabak on Dreven. The Empire had been fully reborn, and the years that followed would be one of strife for the New Republic and great victory for the Empire. Valak set into motion a great campaign, a campaign which produced another Death Star, hundreds of new warships, and regained dozens of star systems which had fled to the New Republic. Leading from his commandship, the Palpatine, Valak retook Coruscant, destroyed Sluis Van and Gastus IV, and pushed the New Republic and their allies back to the corners of the galaxy. Misfortune would soon bestow the Emperor, however. With the destruction of the Advanced Death Star and the return of Palpatine, Valak's hold on his Empire was loosened, and by late 11 ABY, had seemingly disappeared all-together. In his absence, Kendal Osbourne would assume the throne, and Valak, nor his supporters, did anything to stop it, casting the impression upon the Empire that their great leader had died. Not long after, however, Valak resurfaced, but in the captivity of the New Republic, being held for war crime charges. Prison, however, would not hold the former Emperor, and soon after his escape, Valak would disappear, never to be seen again. Despite his eerie departure from the Empire, Valak's legacy still lives on in the Empire. Valak single-handedly brought the Galactic Empire back from the verge of total annihilation, drawing all of the Empire to his banner and eventually beat the New Republic back. Valak resurfaced for a brief period of time during the War of the Throne. He met with Danik Kreldin and Fianar S. Reanus, co-leaders of the Neo-Imperial Movement, to forge an alliance against Emperor Malus. Valak agreed to support the Movement against Malus, in order to regain the Throne, but after the Movement's collapse on Etti IV, Valak once again withdrew to the shadows. Although unconfirmed, it is likely that Valak was usurped by Aleister Vadim from behind the scenes; Vadim, ever powerful, would have been more than capable to defeat Valak in a battle of the Force. Vadim, and his apprentice, Darth Malign, likely subdued Valak and chased the former Emperor into hiding in order to secure the Throne for Vadim. Lorn Rhys would ultimately meet the same fate, frozen in carbonite by Malign and offered as a gift to Vadim. Dark Lord of the Sith How Bacharan Valak came to know the Dark Side, or the Force itself, is a mystery. By 6 ABY, however, Valak was well versed in the dark arts, and knew a great deal about the Sith Order. Valak used his Force powers to rally the warring warlords which allowed him to reunify the Empire and to declare himself Emperor. Valak eventually became the Dark Lord of the Sith, succeeding Palpatine, and took on various apprentices and Dark Side Elite, including Lara Grayson, Morganna Tazecks, Alora Antieres and Cort Stasus, and was the mastermind behind the Third Jedi Purge. He was indeed a powerful Sith Lord in his time, though he never achieved the same level of mastery over the Dark Side as his predecessor, Darth Sidious, had. Nevertheless, Valak was the most powerful practitioner of the Force within his time period, his powers extending so far as being able to strip Luke Skywalker and Jessalyn Valios from the Force. Valak, Bacharan Valak, Bacharan Valak, Bacharan Valak, Bacharan Valak, Bacharan